The Salvation Army says donations to their red kettles are down this year. Salvation Army Bell Ringer Maggie Vinnedge of Ontario rings, sings and dances to holiday music outside of the Rancho Cucamonga Wal-Mart. (Staff file photo/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)

The Salvation Army says red kettle donations are down this year, the organization's 123rd annual Red Kettle Campaign.

A fluke of the calendar could mean The Salvation Army will have to hold the line on services or even reduce them in the coming year.

The Salvation Army’s Southern California Division saw a drop in the donations collected by the annual red kettle drive, which generates a large part of the contributions the group raises annually to pay for services.

“At the moment, they are down 6 percent from last year division-wide,” said Robert Brennan, spokesman for The Salvation Army’s Southern California Division, which consists of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Red kettle drive fundraising in San Bernardino County is down 21 percent, according to the most recent reports collected by the Sierra Del Mar Division headquarters. The division is made up of San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego and Imperial counties.

The red kettle drive — made up of bell ringers who stand outside stores asking for donations — operates from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve in the Sierra Del Mar Division. Last year, that meant a 33-day Christmas campaign. This year, a late Thanksgiving left only 27 days.

In the case of The Salvation Army Pomona Corps, the red kettle drive helped it raise a net income of $60,000, Brennan said. That’s the same amount as last year.

Lt. Javier Castro of the Pomona Corps said that when he and his wife arrived in Pomona last year and became the corps officers, a goal of $100,000 had already been set and $93,000 was raised in the 2012 campaign.

After paying 28 bell ringers, who earn minimum wage, the total shrunk to about $60,000, he said.

This year, he said, more volunteer bell ringers were used, reducing the number of paid bell ringers to 18.

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Although the goal for this year’s campaign was $100,000, “we were projecting to hit only $75,000 but we came close to $84,000,” Castro said.

After paying the 18 bell ringers, the Pomona Corps had about $60,000 left for programs and services, he said.

Brennan said some people are critical of The Salvation Army for paying bell ringers, but those individuals are also needy people who very often use The Salvation Army’s services.

“They’re the working poor,” he said. “It’s a minimum-wage job, and we’re trying to help people get by.”

That sounds like about the correct number, said Naomi Tamez, envoy in charge at the Ontario Salvation Army.

“If we had another week, we’d be just right,” she said. “That’s our major fundraiser, is the kettle season, and when it’s low, we don’t get to help as many people as we normally do. It’s rental, utilities, emergency shelter (assistance) that goes down as the cost of living goes up.”

The decrease in donations means there will be little opportunity to expand programs in 2014, Brennan said. This comes at a time when the need continues to increase.

“We have people coming to The Salvation Army that used be donors,” he said.

Castro said the limited funds raised via the kettle campaign means limited funding for food pantry programs, social services and assistance paying for utilities when the need is great.

In order to help more people, the Pomona Corps will need help from the community during the year, Castro said.

“Money goes a long way,” he said. But “there are lots of ways to contribute.”

Donations can be made online at www.inlandempire.salvationarmy.org, by calling 800-SAL-ARMY or by mailing a check to divisional headquarters, 2320 Fifth Ave., San Diego, CA 92101. Unless the donor requests otherwise, the money will go to the corps closest to the donor, said spokeswoman Suzi Woodruff Lacey.